AUBURN – A second attempt will be made Monday to pick jurors to the hear the case of a Navy journalist charged with assaulting his adopted son.

Accused of spanking his 22-month-old son with a wooden spoon, Jeremy Allen was initially scheduled to go to trial last May. His case was postponed after lawyers on both sides failed to find 14 impartial jurors from a group of about 100 people.

A new pool of potential jurors from Androscoggin County will fill the Auburn courtroom Monday morning to answer a series of questions compiled by the state prosecutor, Allen’s attorney and Justice Ellen Gorman.

“We expect to pick a jury and start the trial Monday afternoon or Tuesday,” said George Hess, the Auburn attorney representing Allen.

The trial is expected to take two to three days.

Allen, a 30-year-old Navy officer who works in the public affairs office at the Brunswick Naval Air Station, faces a felony assault charge for allegedly hitting his son, Nathaniel, with a wooden spoon.

Police say he used so much force that the spoon left bruises on the boy’s thighs and buttocks.

The assault allegedly occurred two days before the boy died. Allen’s wife, Sarah, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the child’s death.

Police say that on Feb. 14, 2003, after Jeremy Allen left the couple’s home in Lisbon for a business trip in New Hampshire, Sarah Allen shook the boy with so much force that it killed him. The Allens have vehemently denied the allegation, arguing that their son died as the result of an undiagnosed brain disorder.

Sarah Allen’s case went to trial in June, but it ended without a verdict after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision. A second trial is scheduled for next month.

The decision to charge Jeremy Allen was based on information investigators got from the Allens on the morning their son died, according to court documents.

Before the baby was taken off life-support on Feb. 14, the Allens were interviewed separately at the hospital by a detective, a social worker and a child-abuse expert.

Jeremy Allen was asked about bruises found on the boy’s buttocks and upper thighs during the autopsy. Investigators said Allen told them that he hit his son three times, once with his diaper on and twice without it.

Jeremy Allen could face up to five years in prison if he is convicted. His wife faces up to 40 years.

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